Ordinance governing civility adopted by Emerson Borough Council

The Emerson Council approved a new ordinance to establish "rules and guidelines for ethical and civil business and social behavior" - otherwise known as the civility ordinance - by a 5-1 vote during its June 17 meeting.

The ordinance establishes a code of conduct for borough employees, officials and other borough representatives. The code includes 10 rules or guidelines, which include points like, "ethics are everyone's responsibility" and lists the core values of the borough as being: "We treat each other with respect. We do what is right. We always seek to improve. We accept personal responsibility."

The passing of the ordinance comes in the wake of a former councilman and former borough attorney entering pre-trial intervention programs after they faced charges of election fraud and as the borough faces a lawsuit from a former administrator who has alleged a variety of wrongdoings by officials.

Some of the code's rules are more workplace-specific, requiring people to "avoid actions which are a source of distraction to others," to "never encroach on other's privacy," to "observe the chain of command" and to "pass on information to all related recipients in the desired form."

Council President Scott Rivers said there had been several "instances where people working in the borough didn't feel they were being treated correctly," which inspired the various rules.

Councilwoman Danielle DiPaola, who voted against the ordinance, previously took issue with points in the ordinance which state that "no one is exempt from filing an Open Public Records Request" and another, which requires the consent of all parties of a conversation to consent to a recording being made, though state law only requires the consent of one party.

"I stand by all my comments that I think this ordinance would not pass a test in court," DiPaola said before voting against the ordinance.

Borough Attorney Ronald Gordon previously said he believed the ordinance would not violate any rights. Rivers said he trusted Gordon's opinion as their attorney.

A separate section of the ordinance also explains how any violations of the code should be dealt with. Any borough employee, volunteer, elected official or other representative who "fails to meet the standards of business conduct described in the code... will be subject to discipline or administrative corrective action." Exactly what discipline violators will face isn't specified, but it will be "reasonably designed to deter wrongdoing and to promote compliance with the code."

The ordinance also states that any borough representative who retaliates against another borough representative for reporting concerns about legal or ethical issues may face disciplinary action as severe as termination.